Loneliness Research: Basic Concepts and Findings

Abstract

e r s o n a l h e a l t h and happiness, t h a t " f r i e n d s a r e good medicine," i s such a timely idea. Indeed, so fundamental a r e s o c i a l t i e s t h a t s e v e r a l independent r e s e a r c h t r a d i t i o n s have developed i n t h i s a r e a , each with a somewhat d i f f e r e n t f o c u s . Thus t h e co-existence of work on s o c i a l s u p p o r t , l o n e l i n e s s and s o c i a l i s o l a t i o n a t t e s t s t o t h e v i t a l importance of s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s . The independence of t h e s e r e s e a r c h t r a d i t i o n s i s u n d e r s t a n d a b l e , given t h e i r h i s t o r i c a l and d i s c i p l i n a r y o r i g i n s . But t h e time i s now r i g h t f o r r e s e a r c h e r s